Amitabh Bachchan, 80, injured while shooting film in India

Amitabh Bachchan said he was injured during a film shoot and is recovering at home in India's Mumbai city in a blog post published on Sunday night, March 5, 2023. Photo: AP

Amitabh Bachchan said he was injured while shooting a film in southern India and is recovering at home.

The 80-year-old Bollywood superstar posted on his blog Sunday night that he sustained a rib injury while working in Hyderabad on the science fiction film Project K. It's being made in the Hindi and Telugu languages and is slated for release in 2024.

Bachchan wrote that he had a damaged rib cartilage and a muscle tear. He said the injury was "painful” and he consulted a doctor before he flew home to Mumbai, where he was advised to rest.

"I shall be unable to meet the well wishers at Jalsa Gate this evening, so do not come,” the actor said to fans who often gather outside his home in Mumbai. "All else is well,” he wrote.

He said his work on the film was suspended until he’s healed.

It was not the first time he was hurt on a film set. In 1983, during a fight scene on the set of Coolie, he suffered a serious injury in an accident and was declared "clinically dead.” People across India spent days holding public prayers. He eventually recovered and finished the film.

Bachchan has acted in more than 200 Indian films. His breakthrough came in the 1973 film Zanjeer, or The Chain, and he rose to superstardom playing bold characters, inspiring fans to copy his hairstyle, clothes and deep voice.

The hugely popular actor is also a former politician and a television host. – AP